Reunification
by Anarish
Summary: (Set after the events of Predacons Rising) Ratchet and the humans get a call from Arcee and the others back on Cybertron. Some special 'Bots have returned, a very special one in particular for our resident medic. (One-Shot; rated T because I'm paranoid)


**AN: This is my first ever story, so please don't hate too much! I tried to proofread it, but I apologize if there are any mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my OCs.**

**Yes, there may be some pretty weird pairings in here, but I personally love them. I haven't seen any Ratchet/Firestar fics on here yet, so I decided to try it out. I'm sorry if anyone seems a bit OOC.**

* * *

"Aw! Come on Doc-'Bot, I _promise_ it won't be _too_ loud!" protested the Japanese girl, attempting to convince the others at Autobot Outpost Omega-One to let her play her guitar.

"That's what you said last time! Besides, promises from the likes of _you_ are worthless!"

"It was just that one time—!"

"One? _One_? Ha! Yeah _right_!" bellowed the medic, a look of disbelief on his faceplate.

Miko widened her eyes, then settled into a pout, puckering her lips and furrowing her brows. Ratchet merely sighed, then turned back to the computer terminal with a huff.

_BEEP_. _BEEP_. _BEEP_.

"Argh!" cried Ratchet as the comm. link pinged annoyingly. Ever since Unicron's defeat, Autobot and Decepticon refugees had been trickling in, slowly populating the long-dead planet.

He slammed his servo onto a button, and Arcee's faceplate appeared on the screen. She looked surprised at first, but quickly recovered her composure.

"Hey guys. We got some new 'Bots in today, thought you might want to see 'em. There's quite a few familiar faceplates you know. We got 'Hide, Percy, 'Racer, Chromia, the lot," she said, casting side glances at the humans and Ratchet as she spoke.

June and Agent Fowler had entered the room when the comm. dinged, while Raf and Jack had thrown down their video game controllers and ran over, eager to hear the news.

Ratchet stared at Arcee, wide-opticed. She had mentioned Moonracer and Flareup, perhaps…? No. That wasn't possible. She'd fallen off the cliff, yes; but had she been deactivated?

He shook his helm, hoping to clear it, then looked back up at the screen.

"I'll activate the SpaceBridge immediately."

* * *

Miko, as expected, practically bounced through the 'Bridge in excitement. "There's more 'Bots? We're gonna meet some new guys? _Awesome__!_" She continued on like this, talking fast enough to give Blurr a run for his credits.

"Bumblebee!"

Raf ran to his guardian and leapt onto his servo, glad to see him again. Bumblebee grinned. "Hey Raf, you wanna meet our new arrivals?"

"I'm sure we all would," said Ratchet as he stepped forward, urgency evident in his tone. Bumblebee looked to him and nodded, then led the five humans and medic outside.

"Hey 'Bee! Is that Doc?"

Ratchet groaned, he knew that voice by spark. It was Sideswipe, possibly the most annoying 'Bot this side of Cybertron.

"Yep!" called Bumblebee, then waved Sideswipe over.

The red 'Bot trotted over and clapped his servo onto Ratchet's shoulder pad, who growled at him and flinched away. "It's _nice_ to see you, _Sideswipe_," Ratchet drawled irritably. Sideswipe laughed. "Nice to see you too, Doc!" This earned yet another groan from the medic.

Miko burst into a fit of giggles at Sideswipe's antics, liking him immediately. Jack smiled a bit, as did June. Raf looked confused, and Fowler looked plain irritated.

"Bumblebee are there any other 'Bots? Maybe someone more…_pleasant_ to be around?" Ratchet asked carefully. Bumblebee nodded cheerfully, then led the others away.

"Hey Percy! C'mere!" called the black and yellow mech. Another 'Bot, a tall red and teal mech with a cannon or microscope of sorts mounted on his shoulder, glanced up. He caught sight of Ratchet and a grin split his faceplate. "Ratchet?"

He made his way over to them, optics brightening with curiosity when he spotted the humans. Ratchet smiled and placed a servo on his old friend's shoulder pad. "Hey Percy," he said with a certain amount of cheekiness that the humans were unfamiliar with. Perceptor scowled at the medic. "Don't call me that. You of all 'Bots—"

"I know, I know," interrupted Ratchet, a glint of mischief still visible in his optics.

"Did Ratchet just make a _joke_?" Miko whispered to Jack, earning a bewildered shrug from the raven-haired boy.

Suddenly, a spearmint-colored femme came up beside Perceptor and leaned against the servo hanging at his side. "Hey Ratch'. Long time no see, eh?" she asked with a grin.

Ratchet looked startled, but recovered his composure and smiled at the femme. "Hello Moonracer. I trust you are doing well?" he asked. Moonracer smirked and shrugged. "Fine, I guess. If you consider 'fine' being trapped in a small ship with two of the most annoying mechs on Cybertron," she answered, throwing a pointed glance over her shoulder pad at Jazz and Sideswipe.

Ratchet shivered, horrified at the mere thought. "I feel for you," he said sympathetically.

Miko and Jack looked up at Moonracer and gawked. The only femmes they had ever seen before were Arcee and Airachnid, so they were awestruck at the thought of other female Transformers.

"Hey Ratchet?" started Miko uncertainly. Ratchet looked sharply at her. Miko swallowed nervously and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Is she your wife?" she blurted out, causing Moonracer to burst out laughing.

"No way! Percy here's my sparkmate," she said. "Although, Doc-'Bot here _does_ have what you humans call 'a wife'."

Miko's eyes widened as she turned to Ratchet, who was glaring at Moonracer.

"Do you have any kids? Is she a Decepticon? Is it forbidden love? Have you ever kissed? What's her name? Is she grumpy like you? What was her job during the War? What does she transform into? What color is her armor? What does she look like? What weapons do she use—?" started Miko, but Ratchet interrupted her, for once answering her stream of questions.

"No, we do not have any sparklings. She is _not_ a Decepticon, which answers the next question. Yes…we have done what you humans classify as 'kissing'. Her armor is red and orange, with hints of yellow. She has a headlight on her helm, and a wheelset on her spinal strut. She transforms into a Cybertronian rescue vehicle. During the War she was an Elite Guard soldier, but also a bit of a field medic. She carries a blade around, similar to one of Wheeljack's katanas. Her name…is Firestar," he concluded, then turned to Moonracer. "Is she here?"

"You bet she is!" a voice called out. The voice had come from a blue femme who greatly resembled Arcee in armor color. This one, however, had _blue_ side-decor on her helm instead of pink.

Ratchet smiled a little when he saw her, but was soon disappointed when he realized that Firestar was not with her.

"Miko, Jack, Raf, Agent Fowler, June; this is Chromia, the only Wrecker that is not a mech.

Suddenly Wheeljack came up beside Chromia and brought his servos down on her shoulder pads, startling the femme. She turned and smacked Wheeljack upside his helm. "Hey!" she growled. Wheeljack smirked playfully, doing his best to contain his laughter.

Miko laughed, then ran over to Wheeljack, who had placed his servo on the ground for her. "So Jackie…Any special someone in mind, now that the War's over?" she asked with a wink. Wheeljack snickered, then glanced over at Arcee.

"Eh, I don't think she's ready yet," he said, a little wistfully. Miko noticed this, but said nothing. No, she was _scheming_. She was determined to make her friends happy, whether it was force-fed to them or not. First on her list: get Arcee and Wheeljack together.

Not long after, two more femmes approached the small group. Perceptor and Moonracer had left, probably discussing plans now that the War was over. Chromia had gone off to find Ironhide and bring him back to the group. Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Bumblebee were the only 'Bots left.

One of the femmes was pink, and had large pieces of armor on either side of her helm. She also had a helm spike similar to Arcee's. Her helm finials seemed to move a little with her mood, and were currently flared up in happiness. Other than that, she looked like a taller, pink version of Arcee.

The other femme was a bit different; being red, orange, and yellow. She had a bright red helm spike as well as a headlight. Now that the children thought about it, she looked a lot like…

"Star!" Ratchet said joyously, and the femme rushed forward into his servos. "Hey Ratch'!" she whispered.

The children looked at the femme, then started when they heard pedesteps behind them. They turned to see Arcee, beaming with happiness.

"Hey sis!" Firestar called. Jack stared at his guardian, who had responded with a wave. She approached the red femme and hugged her, then walked over to the pink femme and gave her a hug as well.

Ratchet must have noticed the humans' confusion, because he quickly started to explain. "Firestar, Elita-1, and Arcee are all sisters. Elita is the eldest, while Firestar is the youngest. Arcee is the second-born."

Jack looked up at Arcee with a hurt expression on his face. "Arcee…Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. Arcee knelt beside him and gave him a sympathetic look. She took a moment to think about her answer, knowing that she would be divulging many 'Bots' secrets.

"The same reason why Optimus didn't tell you that Elita was his mate, why Ratchet didn't tell you that Firestar is his mate, why Bulkhead didn't tell you that Springer is his twin brother, why Wheeljack didn't tell you that Pyro was his little brother, and why Ratchet didn't tell you that he used to be—" she stopped and glanced at Ratchet, who stared right back with a pleading expression. She skipped over what she was going to say and continued, "Anyway, we wanted to keep you guys safe. We didn't want too many things plaguing your minds. And we didn't want to get your hopes up, just in case one of the 'Bots we told you about was deactivated. We didn't want you to experience more death than you already had."

Miko looked at Elita-1 in awe. "Optimus had a wife—er, sparkmate?" she asked incredulously. Elita nodded and smiled at the human. Something caught her attention in her peripheral vision. "I'll be right back," she said before turning to the mech and walking over to him, greeting him warmly. Miko was surprised to see that it was Ultra Magnus, and she suddenly had yet another devious plan concocted in her mind.

Something else was bothering her though, something Arcee had said. She turned to Ratchet. "Ratchet, Arcee said you used to be something. What was it?" she asked tentatively.

Ratchet glanced at her guiltily, a painful expression on his faceplate, but he finally sighed and faced her.

"You've heard of Seekers, yes? They are Cybertronians that have wings, and transform into aerial modes, such as Starscream or Dreadwing. Well, when the War broke out, many Seekers joined the Decepticons, thanks to Starscream and his brothers and sister." At this, he held up a servo, quelling Miko's questions.

"Before the War, we were all young, your species's version of adolescents or young adults. I had a younger brother who went by the name of Flatline, and a cousin called Backbeat. Our creators were both gladiators, and supported Megatron in his quest for power. Flatline and I were accepted into an educational facility. He joined the weapon manufacturing team, while I joined the medical team. Backbeat joined the demolition team. We were nearly done with our studies when the war broke out.

"Our creators, Seekers called Haywire and Firewall, joined the Decepticons. They became two of Megatron's top lieutenants, working alongside Soundwave and Shockwave. Because they had joined the Decepticons, Flatline, Backbeat, and I were…persuaded to join as well," Ratchet said, but was far from finished. He saw Miko looking at him with an unreadable expression, as well as the other humans, but he forged on.

"As you might have guessed by now, Flatline, Backbeat, and I were Seekers as well. We were part of Starscream's armada. However, I was also a part of the medical staff. I worked alongside Thundercracker, one of Starscream's brothers.

"One day, we found out that Haywire and Firewall had been deactivated during their power down time. The crime was investigated, but the murderer was never found. After that night, Backbeat I left the Decepticons. I…knew who did it, but no one believed me. I flew away, but my brother chose to stay." He looked down at the humans, who were giving him questioning looks, and he realized that they wanted to know who had done it. "My brother was the murderer. He wanted them gone so he could rise to the top. He even tried to convince me to help him, but I refused.

"I joined the Autobots, but was not fully trusted until Optimus became the leader. Sentinel Prime never trusted me, but he was exposed as a traitor much later in the war. Zeta Prime started to trust me, but only because I saved his spark. When Optimus became Prime, he pardoned every former Decepticon. Jetfire, Topspin, Twintwist, Sideswipe, Jazz, the whole lot."

The humans were speechless. However much they pretended to know the 'Bots, they barely knew anything about them. Suddenly Raf spoke up about something that had been bothering him ever since Ratchet had started his story.

"So…What happened to your wings?" he asked quietly, but Ratchet heard him and gave him a mournful look. "They…" his voice cracked, and he started over, "They were removed during Sentinel Prime's reign," he told the boy, but the look on his faceplate suggested something else, something much deeper. Raf decided not to question the medic, though; he didn't want to upset anyone.

Firestar noticed Raf's contemplating look, so she decided to tell him the full story. "Hey, uh…Raf, is it?" she asked. The boy looked up and nodded. "Why don't I take you on a tour?" she asked, and his face brightened. Bumblebee placed his charge in her servos, telling her to be careful, and she transformed around him. She drove away, supposedly giving him the deluxe tour of her home.

"So, do you want to know what _really_ happened to Ratch's wings?" she asked Raf, who nodded eagerly. "Wait, is it okay?" he asked, and she just laughed in answer. "I have no idea."

Raf smiled, then shrugged. "I guess you can tell me," he said.

Firestar reclined the human's seat, then began her story.

"During Sentinel Prime's leadership, a traitor was discovered in the ranks. However, nobody knew who it was. At the time there were only three Seekers in the Autobot ranks: Topspin, Jetfire, and Ratchet. Backbeat used to be an Autobot, but she went neutral. Ratchet says she knew what was happening to the Seekers, so she left while she still could. Topspin was the Wreckers' medic, and his brother, Twintwist, had recently passed away. Topspin had been the only 'Bot with his brother when he fell into the chasm, arousing immediate suspicion.

"Jetfire was a member of the Elite Guard, and had been the most recent to defect from the Decepticon ranks. Ratchet had been the first, and he was the Autobot CMO. As you may know, medics can't save everyone, some 'Bots just couldn't be saved. Pharma used any excuse he could to blame those he disliked.

"Pharma was a medical officer who was a little too loyal to the Autobots, and not in a good way. He was paranoid of many things around him, and therefor disliked all former 'Cons. He even created a type of rust plague to try and exterminate them, but nobody knew it was him until after he left. He was also quite jealous of how quickly Ratchet had become CMO, for having only been in the Autobot ranks for a few quartexes."

"All the Seekers were thrown in the brig and were to be put on trial. Topspin and Jetfire were found innocent, thanks to Ultra Magnus and Ironhide's judgement. Unfortunately, they were unable to save Ratchet. Sentinel sentenced him to immediate deactivation."

At this, Raf gasped, surprised. Firestar continued, her voice getting softer.

"Pharma took the job of deactivating Ratchet. Sentinel did not care what method he used, as long as he got the job done," the femme growled spitefully. "Pharma decided to get his revenge. He took the opportunity to remove what Ratchet held most dear: his wings. He hacked them off, a painful procedure for any winged Cybertronian, be them Seeker or Racer.

"Fortunately for Ratchet, Ironhide and Ultra Magnus suspected something was up, so they led us down to the chambers where Ratchet was being held. We busted in and saved Ratchet, but Pharma escaped," Firestar finished.

Raf cast his eyes down, suddenly feeling sorry for the medic. He had gone through so much, perhaps that was why he was so grumpy. "Thanks Firestar."

"For what?"

"For telling me that. I finally understand why Ratchet can be so high strung."

Firestar laughed at that. "I bet I can get him to loosen up," she said.

Raf smiled. "I sure hope so. I bet Miko does too!"

"So, you wanna go back now?"

"Sure." Suddenly Raf remembered something else. "Will Ratchet be coming back to Earth? Now that you're here, I don't know if he'll want to leave."

Firestar rumbled her engine, a noise that comforted Raf a bit. "I really don't know. I suppose I'd be okay with going to Earth. I've heard about it from 'Lita and 'Cee, but I want to see it myself. It sounds beautiful."

Raf sighed wistfully. "It can be," he whispered, too weary to remain awake any longer. Firestar chuckled to herself as she drove back to Iacon; she was ready for some rest herself.

* * *

**AN: Well, I hope you liked it! No flames please; this is my first story. Comments and helpful critiques are welcome!**

**By the way, Racers are ground Cybertronians with doorwings. It's something I came up with to keep them straight. XD**

**Haywire is a mech, Firewall is a femme,; just in case anyone was confused.**

**2908 words (not counting the ANs)**


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